House builder blames ‘broken planning system’ and interest rates for loss August 7, 2025 In independent house builder has blamed the “broken planning system” and high interest rates putting off first time buyers for it falling into the red. Cheshire-based Eccleston Homes has reported a pre-tax loss of £1.2m for the 12 months to 31 October, 2024, down from the £2m profit it achieved in the prior year. New [...]
Mortgage recovery hinges on a Bank of England interest rate cut August 6, 2025 Homeowners across the UK are catching a break as mortgage arrears fell for the first time since the cost-of-living crisis began – but a full recovery will hinge on the Bank of England’s decision on Thursday. Missed mortgage payments in the second quarter fell by 4.4 per cent across the UK, whilst direct debit rejections [...]
Zempler Bank grows profit on the back of high interest rates August 6, 2025 Zempler Bank has recorded its third consecutive year of profitability after a cheering jump in customer deposits and a strong performance in interest income. The UK fintech – formerly known as Cashplus – recorded a 58 per cent leap in pre-tax profit to £5.2m for the year ending March 31 2025. It comes as deposits [...]
The Bank of England’s trouble-free decision to cut interest rates August 6, 2025 The Bank of England has long suffered from the accusation of groupthink. Reforms have been mooted – and some have been implemented – but it has struggled to shake off the charge. Economists at the Cato Institute and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) have, for example, pointed the blame at Threadneedle [...]
Cut interest rates to four per cent, City PM Shadow MPC says August 5, 2025 Top economists have voted 8-1 for interest rates to be slashed by 25 basis points in City PM’s new Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Amid high inflation and falling job numbers, the Bank of England is set to face a difficult finely balanced decision on Thursday on whether to cut interest rates from the current [...]
Decathlon: Losses almost double amid ‘significant transformation’ July 22, 2025 Losses almost doubled at Decathlon during its latest financial year as a “significant transformation” impacted its sales. The retailer has reported a pre-tax loss of £23.7m for 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The total comes after Decathlon also posted a loss of £11.9m for 2023. The business last achieved a pre-tax [...]
Natwest and Lloyds: What to expect from FTSE 100 bank earnings next week July 21, 2025 The FTSE 100’s banking titans, Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC are gearing up for what promises to be an interesting half-year reporting season. Lloyds and Natwest will kick off earnings on July 24 and July 25 followed by peers Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered the following week. The first quarter was defined by President Donald Trump’s [...]
Sticky inflation takes shine off Reeves’ week July 17, 2025 If the Chancellor was hoping to bask in the glow of supportive front-page coverage the morning after her Mansion House speech, she would have been disappointed. The spectacular revelations of Whitehall’s hushed-up cock-up over Afghan refugees knocked her off the top of the news agenda pretty much across the board. Only City PM gave her [...]
Bank of England interest rate cut ‘almost certain’ after poor growth July 11, 2025 Fresh growth figures have fuelled speculation of an August interest rate cut in a bid to give the waning UK economy a shot of life. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Friday the UK economy shrunk for the second consecutive month with a 0.1 per cent contraction in May. Deutsche Bank’s chief economist [...]
Bank of England rate-setter calls for interest rate cut May 30, 2025 A top Bank of England rate-setter has dismissed the latest spike in inflation and doubled down on calls for further interest rate cuts. Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Alan Taylor said the fresh inflation surge was driven by “one-off factors” related to President Donald Trump’s trade war. Whilst he said recent trade progress, with the [...]
